kayb

As my last few tomatoes have been stubbornly clinging to the vines and refusing to ripen, even though it's supposed to be in the high 80s next week, I've been thinking about an expanded garden next year. Browsed the Burpee seed site for thoughts, and determined if I got everything I wanted, I'd need approximately an acre and a half of garden space. Ain't happening. I think the thing will be to pace off the site I want prepared (larger than this year, with hopes for no broke ankle!), and then determine what will fit in it. For sure: early sweet peas, and Kentucky Wonder green beans. All else is optional.

Well, there's preserving, and there's preserving. Thanks for the vacation, Anna and Kerry. Always fun to go to Manitoulin.

When you say "fresh ground corn," you're speaking of just-off-the-cob kernels? Not corn that has been left on the stalk to dry before havest? If so, I can only marvel at how wonderful it must taste. At first glance, I thought the mushrooms and bacon were all crispy bacon bits on top, which also would have been marvelous.

Many thanks. A lovely vacation.

@Shelby, what were y'all celebrating. That looks like an absolutely marvelous meal!

I believe I may have perfected roast sweet potato wedges in the CSO. These were farmers' market sweet potatoes; grocery store ones may cook a bit more quickly. I peeled the potatoes and cut them in wedges. Tossed them in olive oil, lined them up on the foil-lined CSO baking pan, salted lightly. Steam-bake an hour at 350, then let them sit until shortly before we were ready to eat. Finished off with 15 minutes' convection bake at 450. Crispy exterior, creamy inside. Just about perfect. Please forgive the horrible photo. The Kindle camera (my phone is on the fritz, and both cameras' batteries were down!) takes really poor quality shots.

Welcome! Anxious to hear your input and adventures!

Just to brighten up your Monday morning: Click

Astonishing pizzas! I'll have one small slice of each, please! Sunday dinner was roast pork (pork shoulder roast, rubbed in a pastrami spice and braised in beef until it pulled easily); corn casserole, roasted sweet potato wedges, pinto beans and homemade rolls. No photos because they didn't come out well, but everything was good. Now trying to decide what I'll do with about three pounds of leftover pulled pork. Found a recipe that pairs it with caramelized onions and Gruyere on a sandwich; I'm thinking that is in my future today.

May not be in New Jersey, but I assure you we have them in the Mid-South, where a barbecued pork steak is a delicacy! I've always found it needs to be "dressed up" with some herbs and spices, myself.

I wish we had Costco; they haven't intruded on the Home of WalMart yet. Soon, I hope. Apropos of not much at all, my daughter and her fiancee got her engagement ring at Costco. They'd stopped to get gas and went inside to pick up something for his mother. Cara stopped to look at jewelry, and found the engagement ring she wanted. They bought it. I've teased her ever since about getting her engagement ring when they stopped to get gas. BTW, Sam's has a nice rotisserie chicken, too. Much bigger than the standard Kroger/Walmart one. I will occasionally buy one, when I need a meal in a big hurry.

Had a few Romas and cherry tomatoes on my plants, and picked up a variety of grape and cherry tomatoes at the farmers' market today to dry some. Got two shelves' worth in the dehydrator. Drizzled with basil oil and sprinkled with sea salt; we'll see how long they take. Also have some marinating in olive oil and balsamic for a salad with some of my fresh ricotta I made this morning.

Mamma Maria's. Very good.

Please put me on the list of people who want to have dinner at your house. That is absolutely gorgeous. And the cow pea shakshuka over labneh was inspired!

Saved that one myself. Will be making some next summer.

Didn't make it to Cape Cod. Decided to go north instead. Kids wanted a report on the witches, from Salem.

@rotuts -- We did indeed. Swampscott, Marblehead, Salem. Walked some five miles that day.

Lovely meals, all. I wish it would get cool enough to braise something here. One of the two exceptional dinners I had while in Boston -- lobster we bought off the boat, split and baked with buttered bread crumbs. Tomatoes with mozzarella in a balsamic viniagrette with added olive oil. The other dinner was pasta Bolognese at an Italian restaurant in the North End. Very, very good. No pictures.

Local battered cod sandwich with pickle spear and steak fries, at a restaurant in Marblehead Harbor, Mass. We were sitting by the deck railing, so I had to perch my plate on top of it to take advantage of the background. The day before, a Reuben from a stand at the Boston Public Market. With REALLY good spicy pickle chips!

How fun to come back from a trip out of town and get to go to Manitoulin! Now placing hairy melon on my list of things with which not to bother. Not that I had considered it.

Yes. I buy a quarter of a steer and a quarter of a pig every year; I get about 150 pounds of beef, ranging from soup bones and ground beef to steaks, roasts and stew meat; about 30 pounds of pork, which I can to some extent specify how I want it -- I get sausage, shoulder roasts, loin roasts, tenderloin, and pork belly. Then I buy chickens about four, whole, at a time from a local farmer. I have a storage room in which I keep a 10-foot freezer. I suspect the practice saves me money, but I KNOW it provides me better quality meat. What I DON'T know is if my beef qualifies as "single origin." It is, in that it's all from the same farm, but whether it's all from the same critter, I have no idea; ditto the pork. These are small farmers that generally take in eight to 10 animals at a time to be processed.

Aha! Thanks! I am noting on that file that it came from you, so if I ever pass it on to someone else, I can attribute it. I cannot tell you how grateful I've been for those instructions!

Y'all put me in the quiche mood. Actually, this one was something of a hybrid quiche/tortilla, or a quiche-tilla, I guess, as it had three medium grated Yukon Golds and half a grated onion in it, along with diced Black Forest ham and a sizeable portion of grated Gruyere. I tossed the cherry tomatoes on top as an afterthought; they were the morning's harvest, likely about the last I'll get this season. Made a fine lunch.

I cut mine in wedges, skin still on, then toss them in olive oil and put them on the pan skin side down; sprinkle with whatever seasoning, and into the oven. I tend to start them at 375 for 20 minutes or so, then crank it up to 425-450 to finish them off and brown them.

Have to confess I make crustless quiches. Got in that habit on behalf of my child who has celiac disease, and never broke it.